By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
BIRMINGHAM – On Thursday afternoon, the Hewitt-Trussville Lady Huskies and most of the city of Trussville invaded Legacy Arena as the girls found themselves in the Final Four of the 2024 AHSAA 7A playoffs. The opponent this time would be the Prattville Lions, a scrappy team out of Area 3 who were coming off of a 65-40 win over Enterprise to make it to the Final Four.
The Huskies overcame a slow start and took over in the second half to punch their ticket to Saturday’s 7A championship game, winning 51-40 over the Lions.
Prattville came out determined to slow down Jordan Hunter and the Husky offense. Other than a free throw, the Huskies did not score until the first quarter was almost half way finished, when Hunter hit a three-pointer that made the score 6-4 Prattville. Hewitt would find some footing offensively late in the period and end up trailing 14-9 after one quarter of play.
The Huskies came out on fire, with scores in three consecutive possessions in the second. Hunter had another three, Olivia Burton had an open layup and then Hunter hit a layup of her own to make it 15-14 Huskies and give them their first lead of the game at the 6:34 mark of the second quarter. The Lions would hang on and end the quarter with a one-point lead at 24-23.
Hunter had 13 points at the break, but she found herself in foul trouble as the two teams headed into the locker room for halftime.
Once again, the Huskies took to the court and had an offensive explosion early in the third. Mia Ada got things started with a three-pointer at the 6:53 mark and Hunter, Burton and Howard would combine to put the Huskies up 40-31 heading into the final quarter of play.
Hunter would pick up her fourth foul in the third and spend the last several minutes of the quarter on the bench, as well as the first part of the fourth. Burton and Ryleigh Martin would combine to take up the slack while Hunter was out, putting the Huskies up 44-38 half way through the period. The Huskies would spend much of the final period of the game dribbling the ball and waiting for the seconds to tick away.
As zeroes fell on the clock above the court at Legacy Arena, the score would read “Hewitt-Trussville 51 Prattville 40.”
The Huskies were on their way to a finals matchup with 3-time defending champions, the Hoover Bucs.
An emotional Coach Tonya Hunter said, “It’s been an emotional season this year. One of my best friends passed away and we dedicated this season to her when we wear pink. This team saw me depressed. They saw me cry. And they kept coming to practice every day to try and help me. You’re not supposed to do that as a coach. You’re supposed to help them. So we decided to dedicate this season to Pink. Every time we wear pink, we are going to play our butts off for my friend.”
Hunter continued, “They do it every time. Words cannot describe this group. I have had some talented teams in my career. This group right here is special. They allow Jordan to play as a coaches kid. This group took it seriously that they had to contribute. Sometimes they wait, but then they play. Their light shined today. We are so happy to be here.”
Freshman Ryleigh Martin, who had four points off of the bench and had to handle the ball when Hunter was not running the point, said, “Thank the Lord we have Jordan. It’s a great experience and we started out nervous handling the ball but once we got going it was fine.”
Olivia Burton, who had 10 points in the game, added, “I think our bond on and off the court is really good. Outside of basketball, I think we have better relationships than past teams. It is just the friendships which makes it better on the court.”
Sara Phillips, who is a state champion on Hewitt’s softball team, talked about translating the championship mindset from the softball field to basketball court. “The biggest thing is just to lock in and get focused and dialed in. That has been our biggest thing is focusing on the court and on what we have to do. I did this freshman year but I didn’t play as much. This is my favorite team I’ve ever played with in basketball.”
Jordan Hunter, who finished with 22 points on the day, said, “I feel really good and excited to get one more game in!”
The Huskies will return to Legacy Arena on Saturday at 4:00 pm to take on Hoover for the 7A state championship.